I frequently talk about the power of branding, but this simple concept is lost on so many small businesses I visit, restaurants included. These owners and managers are running restaurants, not businesses, and there’s a huge difference. Who...

Once the holiday season is over, there is usually a big lull for caterers until wedding season kicks in. It’s like hibernating, hunkering down until wedding season arrives. They are waiting, waiting, waiting until the time they start generating p...

I was recently talking with a chef friend who gets it. He’s owned his own fine dining restaurants and one of his secrets to success was treating every guest as if they were the most important guest, even when his restaurant was full. I had the sa...

Sadly, many caterers don’t look at their bottom line enough. Some never look at their bottom line. They think they know what their net profit was on a particular event. But when it comes to overall company net profit and how to improve it? They h...

Note: This blog was written by Shweta Singh, a Kent State University graduate student, with the guidance of her advisor, Dr. Swathi Ravichandran...

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There are a few events in our lives that we remember well over the years even though they seemed insignificant at the time. One of these happened to me in 2000. My family and I were touring New Zealand. We went to a fish and chips stand. I asked ...

The foundation of great restaurant service begins with great restaurant staff.  Surprisingly, this concept is lost on many owners and managers, yet the solution really is simple.  As the restaurant business is transient by nature, high turnove...

“You need a holiday Take a holiday Find a far-off wonderland Where you might regain command Of your life today.” —“Holiday” by Jimmy Buffett I started in the work world when I was around five. My dad was a consulting chemical engineer a...

I am all about great restaurant experiences and I love dining out in new places when I travel. Recently, I was on the coast of Maine and had a chance to visit a new steakhouse I had heard about. I met a friend for drinks and we first took a se...